The giant chicken was a popular attraction at this year's Chicken Broil!

Beautiful blue skies with big, puffy clouds, but not a hint of rain. A  sunny and warm day, but not too humid. "Our weather committee did a great job," said Chicken Broil co-chair Mike Tindall. "We had a GREAT day on Thursday." The "weather committee" is  traditionally headed by  local pastors,  who are charged with praying for the perfect weather for the broil. And this year's team did its job well. As did the rest of the team, of course!

"Our pit crew did another amazing job of preparing and cooking the chickens, and delivering them to the serving lines," Tindall continued. "The Coleslaw Guys (and gals) did an amazing job of mixing our awesome coleslaw dressing, mixing it with the fresh sliced cabbage, and getting that to our serving lines. And all the other committees and volunteers that come out each year, contributed to another terrific event."

On behalf of Gary Bross and himself, Tindall thanked the volunteers as well as all those who purchased one of the famous Manchester chicken dinners this year. The 2017 Chicken Broil is officially in the books as another success.  "Gary and I are honored to be the "Co-Chairs" of this great event, and give FULL credit to our volunteers, which are the ones that make our day such a success."

"Our numbers were down a little from last year," Tindall admitted. "We served 7,894 meals last year, and 7,551 meals were served this year."

More than a third (38%) of those meals were served through the Drive-Through, and almost 22% were served to eat on the field. With those numbers, the event was still deemed an unconditional success

"The crew from PBS' 'Michigan Under the Radar' was so impressed with what the Manchester community does, and the fact that all of our 'staff' are volunteers, that they promised to be back in two years to film our operations again, and air it on their show," Tindall added. "What they did this year was an investigation of our operation to determine if it would make a great subject matter for their broadcast. And, as I said, they were more than impressed--they were totally 'amazed'--their words, not mine. On the Third Thursday of July, our community really knows how to come together and 'amaze' our guests."

Come on back to Manchester for Chicken Broil #65 on the Third Thursday of July, 2018!

About one-quarter of the meals were eaten on the field.

The take out lines were quieter this year as many took advantage of the drive-through lanes.

Volunteers of all ages were on hand to help

Checking for perfection on the pits.

The list of donations since 1954 is impressive.